School runs on Eid; 6 pupil die in mishap

Chandigarh : Six school children were killed and around 20 sustained injuries after a bus carrying them overturned in Haryana's Mahendragarh on Thursday, police said. The Haryana government has ordered a probe into the incident following the registration of an FIR, officials said. The bus belonged to a private school and was being driven rashly at a high speed due to which the driver lost control and rammed the vehicle into a tree after which it overturned, police said.

Reports also suggest that the driver was under the influence of alcohol, police said, adding that he has been arrested and his medical report is awaited. The bus was carrying 30 children and the accident occurred near Unhani village in Kanina, they said. Officials also said that the district authorities are ascertaining why the school was functioning despite a holiday owing to Eid festival. "Six children have died in the incident and around 20 are injured," SP, Mahendragarh, Arsh Verma said. Asked about reports suggesting that the driver was drunk, he said, "He has been apprehended and his medical examination is being conducted after which we will be able to establish whether he was drunk or not". Haryana's Education Minister Seema Trikha said it was a "very sad" incident. "Our focus right now is to provide treatment to the injured children," Trikha, who was on her way to the site, told PTI over the phone. Asked why the school was functioning on a holiday, she said, this will be found out from the district and school authorities. President Droupadi Murmu on Thursday said the news of death of schoolchildren in a bus accident in Haryana's Mahendragarh district was heart-rending and prayed for strength to the bereaved families to bear "this cruel blow".

A doctor at a hospital near the accident site where 20 of the injured children were taken to told reporters that four students were brought dead and one, who was put on ventilator support, succumbed to injuries.